When Perseus Meets Shirou Emiya
by CG-3m1y4
Summary: The seventh Campione had been defeated. Now there's no one who could stop Perseus, not even the Goddess of War herself. However, a person suddenly appeared to intervene with his plan. Neither godslayer nor common man, he's definitely an unique type that the god had never seen before. A man with LOTS of blades. What are you waiting for? Let the battle begin!


Both **Fate/stay night** and **Campione!** belong to **TYPE-MOON** and **Jou Taketsuki** respectively. None of the characters featured in this fiction are mine, this is pure fanwork.

* * *

Kusanagi Godou died. The seventh and most recent Campione in the world had fallen.

Liliana Kranjcar was instantly struck with fear the at sight in front of her.

_This was all my fault_. She who witnessed the entire fight from the start could only look on, horrified, as the dead body of the young Campione had collapsed on the ground.

If only she had used the spell, [Instruction], on him... Maybe he wouldn't have suffer like this.

If he could have used the spell words of the [Sword] that even suppressed the Marquis Voban, the fight would definitely have turned out differently. Because of her indecisiveness, someone had died. And it was someone who fought against the gods for the sake of mankind - a savior of the world, a bringer of discord, one of the devil kings.

A Campione had died, and it's all because of her fault.

Dispatched his beloved Pegasus, the Heretic God hero landed on the ground beautifully. Then with the arrogant smirk that could be seen on his beautiful lips, his feet guided him to Liliana and the crowds behind her.

"Now, to the victor, the spoils! I'll be sure to take his heart as my prize!"

The people who slowly gathered around plaza to watch the unfolding battle silently until just a few minutes ago, began to panic and ran in all directions, scattered around Santa Lucia district, in the bay city of Naples, Italy.

Sure, she could escape by using flight spells, but what would become of Naples people? She had sworn an oath as a Knights Templar to guard the citizens all around her from all disasters that waited them. What would happen if Athena and Perseus fight in such chaos?

She would protect the people, no, she must protect them.

"My wings. Steel that becomes the form of my phantom blade! Il Maestro, grant me power!"

_There's no choice but to use that_, she thought to herself. Liliana stood straight to protect the body of young Campione and people behind her, bringing out blue steel that popularly known as Il Maestro. The magical sister sword of Cuore di Leone. Then she chanted her most powerful magic, [The Song of Bow]. From her mouth, came out a poem of harmony, a melody of death.

"Hear the sorrow of David, people! Alas, may the heroes fall! Alas, may the weapons of war be destroyed!"

The singing voice resounded. The surrounding air slowly began to grow chilly.

"O' mountains of Gilboa, I pray that dew and rain will not fall upon your peaks! I pray that your lands grow infertile, unable to flourish! There, the shield of the hero was cast away! The shield of Saul, unpolished with oil, was cast away over yonder!"

From her left hand, the blue light slowly changed Il Maestro's form to a longbow as tall as her. The [David's Bow], the secret art, High Formalcraft of the sword of Saul, a bow that could slay a god is her only chance right now.

"O' bow of Jonathan, with eagle's swiftness and lion's strength, a hero's weapon. Go forth in assault, upon my fleeing enemies!"

Four arrows appeared into her right hand, shaped like blue comets. And they were released, flew to the heretic hero with straight yet unnatural arc. At this point, at least the hero would've taken injuries from the arrow to back off, she was sure of it.

But instead, a shock could be seen on Liliana face. "What?!"

With such superb speed, the white-clad deity jumped aside, moved like a brilliant light dodging all the three arrows that came into him, _exactly_ at the last second.

Only one grazed his right shoulder, small drip of blood could be seen on his white cape. A small look of surprise was added into his expression, although that just made him more interested in the [Witch].

Unaffected by minor injury on his right arm, Perseus walked through her with graceful steps.

"Kukukuku, not a bad attempt to hurt me. But it's useless. Young maiden, throw aside your weapon and come to my side, this is something you must do." said the wargod. His words contained powerful magical energy.

His eye gleamed with weird light, almost like a devil's eye. Mesmerizing and hypnotizing.

Once again she tried to fire the blue arrows of David, but strangely, her voice required for casting those spells wouldn't come out. In fact, whatever she would do afterwards, she just stood there motionless, blankly looking at Perseus despite her mind trying to resist.

_What's going on? Why my body's not moving like it supposed to-_

Then a memory struck her like lightning, she suddenly realized.

_'How could I forget something basic like that?'_

The Perseus and Andromeda myth. A stranger who saved Ethiopian Princess Andromeda from a giant serpent, taking her as bride. Furthermore, as she was mage, a miko, which always trained from young about the existence of gods, it's too hard a feat to even resist such magic words. This is one of Perseus' authority that wouldn't fade away regardless of time, it had become famous myth that couldn't be separated from his gleaming figure.

_No!_ Her scream couldn't be hear by people around. They're too busy running out for their lives to care about one girl. Some of the near spectators were too frightened to help even if they wanted to. One, two, three steps, the figure of handsome hero became closer and closer in her eyes, along with the ruined scenery of Santa Lucia streets and buildings.

With a slightly sorrowful smile that's rare and very unlikely came from the arrogant hero's expressions, he brought up his injured right hand forward to reach her face.

_No! No! No! No! NOOOO! _However hard she tried to break out of these spells, what came out was a mere futile attempt. Kusanagi Godou's already been lost. Athena still refused to fight the Greek wargod despite her aforementioned 'prey' had been defeated, judging of how she still hiding from the blonde's sight. And even if she tried to fight the beautiful yet deadly war-god, she's simply at huge disadvantage under these circumstances.

Liliana's mind began to receive strange flashes of her memories. About how she and Erica Blandelli found Il Maestro and Cuore di Leone at the tombstone in Florence. About her instructions from the Commander-in-Chief of [Bronze-Black Cross] to serve Marquis Voban. Then the encounter with Lord Salvatore Doni which lets her free from Voban, and the meeting with a mysterious man from England, the tall man with red hair ... exactly like in one of her written romance novels.

The bow that used to fire those blue arrows before changed back into sword, placed right above Kusanagi Godou's chest...

That thought made her crazy. No, she had already gone insane. With all the strange things occurring, directly facing Heretic Gods twice, and failing to protect even one Campione. She's suddenly missed that vixen Erica, missed those days in [Black-Bronze Cross] association. Those were better than being held in mind prison like this, being controlled by a man like this! She pleaded to whatever existence could free her from this curse.

_Somebody, please save me!_

Athena, who watched the scene silently before, couldn't care less about fair play anymore. _He's her 'prey', dammit! I was the one who will take his body!_ Unnoticed by Perseus, she materialized her body along with the favorable scythe. Holding it up above her hands, ready to swing it in any sec-

"Hold it!"

Out of the blue, a man's voice could be heard.

The hand that almost touched Liliana's cheek suddenly stopped. All these ruckus' attention turned at the source of voice. Even Althena, who then decided to wait for her time and went back to her spirit form.

It was instant, but enough to let the silver-haired girl broke free of her mind trance.

A man appeared from the top of a ruined plaza building. Short red hair, wearing some sort of black trench-coat, complete with red scarf covered his neck and mouth. His figure illuminated in the moonlight's night, like an angel descended from darkness.

"E-Emiya..." The female knight's tiny voice came out.

He jumped several meters from the wrecked building, landed swiftly on the ground. Then started walking to the body of defeated Campione.

"Hmm? Who are you, to dare ruining such precious mood?" said Perseus haughtily.

"Just a simple traveler who happens to pass by." He said with a calm voice.

The mysterious person placed his hand on Godou's vein, and murmured something like a spell. A green line appeared from his right arm, elbow to palm, and disappeared in seconds. He sighed in relief.

"He's alright. Slightly injured, but he didn't die yet. Should be awake in about a day or so." He stated, plain and simple.

"!"

The silver-haired ponytail's expression was mixed with shock and happiness. Shock because she was sure that the black-hair Japanese guy was already died. Happy because the Devil King was still alive and well despite her failure act as a knight.

She lamented at herself, why she let her emotion clouded her rational thoughts. The guy's a Campione, of course he wouldn't died so easily. Even Perseus and Athena didn't show a bit of surprise at the black-clad's statement.

The man then turned his head to glare at the Greek god and stood up, took few steps forward before he stopped, facing the hero straight. Not even a hint of fear could be seen on the glint of his golden eyes.

"Perseus, the well-known serpent-slaying hero. Son of Zeus, and most famous yet trusted warrior at your time in Greece. Granted at least five tools to defeat your foes from the other gods. Let's see... An anti-serpent scythe, a pair of winged sandals, a mirror shield, a helmet of invisibility, and a bag to contain beast head. Probably had a divine beast in form of white horse with large wings too, although I'm not so sure about it. But your most favored weapon is a golden bow and quiver of arrows at your back, capable of shooting things that exploded on contact like small bombs.

But this is not your only true identity. Am I correct, Mithra of the Sun?"

The handsome hero gaped at his explanations. How did this guy know so much about him? No, first thing first, how did he even know his other name?

The person named Emiya actually made up all of this. All the knowledge he had taught with his two female friends at the Association more or less still limited, especially because he's still an apprentice. But his experience of the War coupled with studies about history of the world, and his unique ability that let him sees everything bladed with a single glance. He was certain his analysis weren't actually far-fetched from the truth.

Especially because he already oversaw the fight a while ago. It's a really wise decision to observe his opponent's abilities before going into a potential fight. That way, he could prepare some countermeasure when the situation turned out worse. In his mind, he gave many thanks Tohsaka and Luvia for always applying the knowledge through his head, improving his chance to survive in many situations.

The hero god now kept his face straight, though his voice contain some amusement. "I'm truly, truly impressed by your knowledge, boy. Are you, by chance, learning all of this just so you could fight me?"

"Actually, no. But don't be so surprised. After all, I had met your greatest fear before." he simply answered. The reply, as expected, made the white deity taken aback.

In his right hand two green lines formed again just like when he examined Godou earlier, only this time a single metallic dagger that resembled a large nail adjusted with long chain, slowly took shape.

"That weapon...!" Perseus let out a surprised gasp.

The man threw it with such superhuman speed that left Perseus dumbstruck. He tried to dodge it much like he avoided the [David's Arrows] before, but his reaction was too late. The dagger stabbed his left arm deep into his flesh, rendering it useless for a while.

"Nngh!" Even if it's just a mortal wound, he can't believe that a mere basic weapon could hurt him this much. With a clank, the man pulled his giant nail out from Perseus' body, made a lot of blood splattered from his left arm and trickling into the plaza's ground, although the arm automatically healing its wounds slightly.

_What a really stupid move of me_, he thought to himself, considering he could just draw the sword from his waist and blocked that surprise throw.

Thankfully, by wielding the power of [Sun] he could regenerate the lost limbs by turning his form into light particles. But he still couldn't comprehend the strange phenomenon that surrounded this boy. The nail before shouldn't stab him in the slightest because of his [Steel] property, and yet it did. It wounded the immortal hero. The god's interest just grew more and more.

"Splendid, truly splendid! Tell me, oh young one. You're neither a godslayer nor even a common man. Just who, or WHAT exactly are you?"

"As I said before, I'm just a simple traveler that desire to become Hero of Justice. Although if you want to know more..."

He dismissed the giant dagger-nail in his right hand, the form of chained weapon slowly fade into nothingness.

"...I'm a magic user, just like the girl over there. Specifically, a magus."

This time, it's Liliana which been greatly shocked by the man's revelation. Of course, she knew the ancient terminology.

Magus. A human practitioner of Magecraft or Thaumaturgy, the magical science. Different from other magician (Mage, Miko, Witch) who's basically reliant of their old magic and make their power declining gradually because of science advancements, Magi are mostly secluded from society for dedicating themselves into the study and refinement of Thaumaturgy, endlessly searching to know truths about universe. The being that already existed in millennia since the Age of Gods. Although they're not known by the present society and their population dropped significantly in numbers, the myth said that they're also very powerful compared to present magician and some of them could even _destroy _gods single-handedly.

"Hey, Heretic God," the man spoke after some time, crossing his arm as he did so, "you know that the green emerald dragon before is a dragon from the essence of the land, a divine beast, that if you carelessly destroy it, the spiritual aura of the land will die along with it. Yet you're completely fine with that?"

Perseus just smirked at that remark. "Slaying dragons and serpents is what I embody. It is the duty and responsibility of a hero, thus, the actions I must perform. If I were to give up on it halfway, it is unforgivable sin!"

"And you won't care about what happens to the land and its human population?"

"It can't be helped, it's for the sake of completing my duty after all."

"And for that regard, you're challenging a Campione and a fellow Heretic God just to have fun fight, ignoring the consequences that could threaten the entire city around here? On top of those, you're taking a girl that's unwilling to be your bride?"

"In a way, yes." The deity smiled boldly.

"Is that how... you perceive a hero? To sacrifice everything for your selfish desire? Then you're not a hero, you're just a bastard."

A burning flame suddenly could be seen on the man's eyes. He gritted his teeth, clenched his left fist so hard that Liliana could see drip of blood on the fingers.

"All of this are enough reason to fight you. Stop this at once. If you won't...

...then I'll have to _force_ you."

Liliana only stared at the two figure with such inexplicable expression. She didn't dare to stop these two monstrosities. The existence beyond mortal comprehension, and a man who dare challenging those existences despite knowing about them.

To be able to challenge a god on even footing, one must first have power on par with the gods. Only someone who had experienced the reality of the battlefield, fighting for their lives, like Salvatore Doni the [King of Sword] would be able to speak such nonsense.

But of course, nothing is impossible in this weird world. After all, someone like David could defeat Goliath.

The redhead turned his head to face the silver-haired girl. "Sorry, I didn't quite remember your name back then at Milan."

"Liliana... Liliana Kranjcar. The Great Knight of [Bronze-Black Cross]." She replied.

"Kranjcar... so you're the granddaughter of the Head?" the silverette nodded. The black-clad then pondered for a while, crossing his hands as he did so, "I see. Kranjcar-san, when I battle with him, please get everyone out of here at least far enough to ensure their safety." He paused to look around, it seemed like the ruckus before had stopped, replaced by all the attention gained from the residents of Naples. "I couldn't give a guarantee to win, but I could at least buy some time to reduce the casualties. Or if lucky enough, maybe force him to retaliate."

"Eh?" She couldn't believe what she heard. He wanted to fight gods _one-on-one_?

"Hoo, such bravery and confidence. Well done." The deity's eyes narrowing, but still formed a small smile.

"It would pointless to run away after delivering all that speech, right?" The redhead simply smiled back at the pretty boy. In response, the legendary hero seemed pretty ecstatic.

"Then, let us begin. The legendary battle between heroes!"

The white-clad deity placed the bow he was holding to his back, drew his sword from his waist-

And rushed toward the black-clad man with superhuman speed. But despite his unfavorable position, the young redhead did not falter. Right in front of him, he avoid the swung of white god's magnificent-looking sword just in a nick of time. Then he took a stance, brought both of his hands forward and finally said his aria:

"Trace On"

In the left hand black as night, in the right hand white as moon. Two married swords met the following strike of the war god.

Just like those in legends, the next display consisted of many sparks like lightning clash between their weapons, and movement so quick it became undetected by human eye. If Perseus was like a brilliant white meteor striking straight with elegance and destruction, Emiya was like black and white colored shield that absorbed full impact of the meteor.

The citizen simply awed by the unimaginable sight right in front of them. That included Liliana Krancjar, which despite the request of the young redhead, seemed to forget those spoken words right after the battle started.

_'He might be on par with Saint Rafaello', _Liliana thought while seeing the amazing blade dance between two men, '_no, he might be even better. I never seen someone who could battle directly with the gods beside Campione.'_

But it looked like it was too much for the black-cloaked man. About five minutes of battle between supermen, his body couldn't keep up with all the strain, both from making those swords and guarding against god's blows. Sweat trickled on his head, and the breath become ragged. Eventually, the black sword broke from the all the clashes.

Perseus, not ignoring this very chance, sent a finishing strike on his opened torso. The redhead tried to parry with his remaining sword, but the white-clad deity's blow was too strong and the white short sword followed the fate of its counterpart. Luckily he barely dodged that attack by rolling to the front, then launched a sliding kick with his reinforced leg, made the god loses his balance. He prevailed as Perseus stumble forward, falling face-first hard to the ground. But on the other hand, the young man's leg also received feedback of intense pain. He couldn't feel his right foot.

_'I need to break that sword'._

With that in mind, he discarded both broken hilt from his hands, once again filled with two swords. But instead of two Chinese dao earlier, in his hands were twin swords that more resembling fangs, greatly varied in size and shape from one other. Without mercy, he attacked the white-clad deity who had yet to stand up from the sliding kick earlier.

A furious, whirling dance of swords, where blows flew like shrapnel. Again and again, the twin daggers relentlessly crashed with the god's talwar, leaving him no chance to counter.

"Gah, kuh!" Perseus only capable of guarding those torrents of swords that rained upon him. Every single attack he blocked, the man already landed three or four more at his sword. At times, the two daggers seemingly broke and fade, only to be replaced by the same thing at the same time. But only the white archer realized this, as the act were too fast for mere human eyes.

"Haaaaaaaaa!"

Stronger. Faster. The redhead increased his blows with such immense speed. If the god could block his attack, he just need to hit even stronger. If the god threw his strike aside, he just need to do it faster.

Ignoring the pain in his right feet, Emiya continued his mad assault.

His body was without limits. No, it's just that he didn't care about the limits.

If this was a normal human, he'd be instantly dead due to lack of oxygen. But the redhead wasn't a normal human to begin with. And no human could stand to such brutal strikes by the redhead, but the blonde wasn't even human to begin with.

The sun god finally saw a big opening on his attacks. He shouted as the battle was his victory already. He didn't even realize that at the small part of the edge, his blade was chipped.

"With this, it's over!"

One swing of the hero was enough to end this rampage. Heavy blow from such strength swung at full power against the black-clad man's shoulder, ready to cut him in two.

But the sharp blade of talwar stopped, caught by malformed blade of his short swords.

"What?!"

With the bigger one of the two halting Perseus' sword, its pair was brought down to the trapped blade, exactly at the small hole formed from clashes earlier...

And shattered it into pieces.

"Tch!", Lost his melee weapon, Perseus retreated a few meters back. Without sword, he could only rely of his wrestling ability.

This was understandable. Tawrich and Zarich, the name of those two weapons, were initially used as sword breakers. However, they still somewhat unreliable because Emiya's skill in handling them was average. It's just a lucky coincidence that let him break Perseus' magnificent sharp sword, focusing all his attacks on one part of his blade.

But even miracle had its limits. The results were clear. A moment later, two dark purple fangs broke followed the talwar's fate, unable to stand all the impacts earlier.

A big jaw drop could be seen for everyone's face that became spectacles at that moment. Awe was simply a mere understatement for the display brought to them. It's something beyond common man's comprehension; the battle between **titans**.

"Hehehe... HAHAHAHAHAH!"

He's trembling. Perseus was trembling with excitement. He knew that this man wasn't an ordinary man. However, this only made him more and more excited. He hadn't have such fights in a long time. Moreover, the man's already stated that he already met his greatest fear, which meant that this unusual guy already been in fight with beings like him once. Not to mention that the young redhead brought out the favorite weapons of his sworn enemies.

He didn't expect to meet someone strong enough to entertain him. At first, he only issued challenge to Kusanagi Godou just for a little fun. Who knew that it would become something like this?

The dreaded Medusa, Athena, Angra Mainyu and many more. Whichever that was, he couldn't wait to find out. Campione or not, he would crush them to pieces as usual, just like in the legends.

After all, true fight had just begun to take place.

***Scene Break***

"Marvelous! I can't believe that a mortal could actually push me so far, even to destroy my sword! Marvelous indeed!"

The Roman-Greek god was very excited. Why wouldn't he? Finally, someone who could fight on par with him, right in front of his very eyes! The thirst of war that long slept within him, awakened again because of this man.

"Hey, listen..." the redhead said, "I don't mean to be rude, but... I already destroyed your sword. You don't have any weapon for close-combat. Besides, this fight is already a stalemate. Could you spare this people some time to change our location, at least for a while?" he added, "Please?"

Emiya prayed that this entity could go back to his realm, he'd have lesser chance to win if this fight continued. But it seemed like this god was too stubborn.

"What do you mean by stalemate? I still have my trusted bow. This is more than enough to stop you." The hero slowly drew Chrysaor, the large golden bow as big as his body, a reward from defeating Medusa, from his back. "Now, let's continue!"

The black-cloaked man just put his palm to his face. '_Doesn't he know when to quit_?' He groaned.

_'This is really bad!'_ Liliana thought._ Perseus was a greatest hero with his bow skill second only to Hercules. If they fought in a straight-up archery match..._

"Run!" From the attentive crowds behind him, a female voice rang in the air.

"Eh?"

"Are you deaf? I said _RUN_!"

It took a moment to realize that the 'hero of steel' shot forth five arrows simultaneously at his direction. The redhead tried to dodge to his right side quickly, the place that was concrete pavement he stood before now had five holes each stuck with arrows lined.

_Fast!_

Once again traced Tawrich and Zarich, he rushed desperately to the god which still standing at his position. But this time, Perseus was ready. He easily blocked the dual-crossing slash from the black-clad man with his front part of the longbow.

" –!?"

Then with a graceful move, the white-clad deity twisted his body to launch a spin kick against the redhead's stomach. _Extremely powerful _spin kick. Even a champion of Muay Thai or Capoeira couldn't even hope to match the speed and strength of that.

"Not bad, but not good enough!"

He's sent flying across the air and eventually smashed into the nearest stone pillar. The two swords earlier suddenly disappeared, its owner unable to maintain focus.

"Guh!"

The impact had been massive. If Emiya didn't reinforce his clothes before flung into the pillar, he'd most likely die on the spot.

But his problem wasn't over yet. Right after he stood up, Perseus unleashed barrage of arrows again. But this time, they're burning with blue flames on the tip. Behind him light rights formed from nowhere.

_Damn it_. The redhead knew what that meant. He frantically avoided them again with reinforcing his legs to the utmost limit. Many place around him suddenly covered in blast of explosions, and some people in the front which still eager to watch earlier now stepped back as far as possible, though many of them still remain unaffected.

It's not like running away was an option for all of them.

Standing at the front of the audience was a beautiful silver-haired girl, an expression of anxiety, as though she wanted to call out her magic sword and stand between Emiya and the hero.

The redhead glared flare at Liliana. His expression basically said 'What are you waiting for, idiot? Hurry up and get everyone out of here!'

Surprised, Liliana did as he requested, shouting at the crowds that circled around the plaza, "Everyone, this place is dangerous! We have to get out of here, now!"

The residents, alarmed by that warning (especially women and children) desperately running back for their lives. The circle of human spread wider and wider as Liliana lead them to safety zone. Likewise, there're some people which still stubborn enough to remained in plaza, the people who believed in miracle of gods. Or maybe they're paralyzed by the "show".

More and more explosions erupted as Emiya dived around in the assault, fled against the aiming arrows and deflected some of them to the air with Kanshou and Bakuya. But it's still in the god's pace. However the redhead wanted to get close to the deity, the deity in question didn't give him any chance to retaliate. He needed some tricks to keep up with the current flow.

Near the right side white-clad deity there's a rock, small enough that he wouldn't notice. But how could he –

_Oh, I see._

Now formed with a plan, he fled away from the current battlefield that was the plaza, running around like a headless chicken until disappeared completely from god's sight.

"Do you want to play 'hide and seek'? Very well, I accept the challenge!" the war deity said with a haughty and childish demeanor.

His crimson eyes scanned the entire surroundings. He felt the abnormal air current right from the Palazzo Realle Di Napoli, the royal palace of Naples, and a heritage building in Santa Lucia district.

Meanwhile, a shadow appeared behind of its walls.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" Three arrows released from the bowstring and blasted out the entire walls, causing great damage to the palace property. But much to his surprise, what awaited him wasn't the injured black swordsman –

But instead his black sword, striking at him with precise speed...!

"Kuh!"

Didn't expect the particular trick, he barely avoid the black sword that aimed on his shoulder with sidestepping to his right, but that was a bad move as well. A small rock from before caused him to stumble back, and he lost his balance once again.

Again the air filled with the screaming of steel as it cut the wind. Behind him, out of his hiding came the redhead, threw its pair of white disc to the off-balanced hero. But even in that unbalanced state the hero still could shoot with his bow, and the Bakuya destroyed with five succession shots.

It was enough to the black-clad man. One more identical copy of destroyed Noble Phantasm clutched in his hand as he closed the distance to just two meters. He brought the bright white sword down, the blade cutting the air with an audible whistle, a strike that was once more blocked by the golden bow.

Defending the fatal slash of Emiya with his bow in left hand, Perseus' other loose right hand proceeded to pummel the redhead on his torso, and the mortal body's sunk into the pavement floor forming a small crater with a same size.

"Gah!" Blood came out from his mouth. He tried to get up, but the hero held his stomach with his feet, took an arrow from his quiver and aimed the longbow at him. Their gaze met one another as the Greco-Roman god pressed his feet further, caused the redhead to suffocate.

_Checkmate._

"Looks like it's my win eh, magus?"

But instead of surrender, said magus just muttered something in a small voice.

"– ut"

"Hm? Are you ready to say your prayers?"

"I said –"

"Huh, what? I couldn't hear you."

"I said _get out_, you idiot!" The red-haired man yelled out loud.

At the back of the war god, a black light that flew through earlier, coming back and swirled dangerously at him.

"_What!?_"

His instinct surely proved in many battles as he hurriedly parried the night disc just before it cut his neck. But below him as he busy dealing with the surprise attack, the redhead raised his hand and slammed the moon dao full power, straight on his legs. It nearly cut his leg apart if not for his [Steel] properties.

"AAAAAGGGHHHH!"

Blood gushed out as the handsome hero let out a high-pitched scream, unable to contain the pain, while Emiya broke free of his hold and grabbed the flying black sword. With it, sword's sharpest point was aimed at his chest, but few seconds later it changed direction and he tried to disarm Perseus, sending a vertical slash from above.

The Greco-Roman god seemed to realize the peril he was in at the last moment. Launching his body backwards, he disengaged from combat just in time. At the same time, the man slowly stood up, panting heavily with all the burned skin around his clothes and body from the arrow bombardments.

"Seriously, by such an unbeautiful method, I was done in this degree. Not even in the myths has such a thing occurred!"

In his leg formed light particles, life force that healing the lost limbs. A force of rebirth granted by the power of [Sun]. However, he used up nearly all of that power for healing and arrow shooting, therefore he couldn't use it again to escape when such crisis situation arise.

The crowds paralyzed. So did Liliana Kranjcar. For the first time, a hope bloomed on her and other people's hearts.

_Maybe, just maybe, he can really defeat gods._

***Scene Break***

"Why?" Now with the recovered leg, Perseus stood steady and asked the black-clad, his stare met the golden eyes that still gasping for air.

"'Why' what?" He asked back, calmed his ragged breaths.

"Why wouldn't you kill me when you have the chance, young one? You know that I'm at the most vulnerable state at that time, but it seemed that you avoid striking vital points at the last second."

"...No particular reason. I just don't like meaningless kills and sacrifices in general."

Perseus gaped at the remark. This boy had been in life-or-death situations, and yet he's still saying that crap? The god didn't know if this boy was either full of bravery and confidence, or a total idiot.

_Still, the boy's ability in combat was not something to be lightly underestimated. Good judgment ability within the flow of battle, to able to push a god this far without any kind of Grimoires... he must had an eye on his mind._

"I never have such amazing battle in a long, long time. Say..." the hero god paused slightly before continuing, "won't you consider join me? Together, we'll become the invincible duo that would reign supreme around this world!" the pretty boy said proudly. "Oh, and also slaying serpents and taking wives from them!"

_'...And I thought Gilgamesh was already annoying enough,'_ the black cloak grimaced, once again pushed his palm to face.

"It is a honor to meet such pleasurable request from the God of War, but I'm afraid I must reject." Emiya shook his head lightly. "Causing innocent people pain... is something that I do not wish to do."

"Ah, what a shame... I bet had the circumstances be different, we would have been friends instead."

"I... suppose so..." The redhead couldn't deny that possibility. Perseus very much reminded him of his deceased old friend. Narcississtic, arrogant, and prideful. But he did have a good side, even if just a little bit.

"I wanted to have more fun with you, but alas, time is such precious luxury I cannot afford anymore. Let's end this in one full blast!"

Placing two fingers on his mouth, Perseus whistled. A winged horse soared into the night sky, responding to his call. In the skies that were lit up by the bright lights of the ruined streets, the pure white Pegasus gracefully approached the sun god. He jumped high and landed safely into its back.

His white cloak billowing with the wind as Pegasus flew high onto the sky. An extremely eye-catching appearance from below.

Light rings appeared at his back, the proof of the sun god that the Man who came from the east possessed. Shining light came out from the rings, a big-sized arrow appeared in his hand. He slowly pulled the string of his golden bow, Chrysaor, charging bolts of pure white light to the arrow as he chanted:

"I have borrowed all divine protection of the sun, to fire this one arrow. A light, when present before another yet whose radiance surpasses its own will lose its splendor. Crush before my greatest enemy!"

At the same time, Perseus fired said arrow towards the moon in the sky.

The single soared high into the heavens - and then split into a thousand shafts of light that burst forth, directed swiftly around the redhead's area.

Crap, he thought. With all the arrows scattered to attack him, he couldn't simply dodge to save himself. Moreover, instead of running to safety, the remaining people just freeze in their place, amazed by brilliant lights before their eyes, not knowing that it could lead them to the impending doom. With that many pillars and buildings all around them, even uncontrolled flying rubbles could increase casualties greatly.

In that case –

A sound of clicking trigger. Magic Circuits flare up uncontrollably around nerves.

He couldn't use the world like the red-clad Servant, but at least he could do this.

"_– Roll out. Bullet clear._"

Five, ten, fifteen, then uncountable number of golden swords flying around, ripped through the sky's imaginary wall behind him, ready to strike those arrows of light.

After seeing the power of [Sword] from fight between Godou and Athena before, he was sure enough he could trace it and besides, it's handy for situations like this. Arguably weaker because they weren't infused with power of knowledge like the originals, but should be enough to intercept the lights. In the first place, it's not supposed to inflict physical pain, but more like a power canceller.

In the center of frozen crowds, Liliana's eyes once again became so wide that her eyeballs nearly came out from it. _I thought it was authority exclusive to Verethragna!_

But it seemed like that's not the case. The fact that someone other than Kusanagi Godou could wield the [Sword] was almost enough to make her pass out.

The pose that reminded him of the arrogant King of Heroes with his famous treasures. Sticking out his left arm, he shouted loudly.

"_Full Trace: Continuous Fire!_"

With that command, all the swords flew towards the lights, crushing the arrows. Explosions and shockwaves rang in the air of Naples, greatly shook the surroundings. Strong enough to broke the glass in all the windows around the square and sent many things flying apart.

The audience, upon seeing the tragedy of destruction unfold, finally regained their senses, screaming, shouting, sighing, breaking out into chaos. The crowds began shouting and yelling, scurrying away into the surroundings, and the situation had become a state of panic.

Clouds of dust sprang out, the blasts from before tearing apart the already ruined plaza and its surroundings. And behind that...

A young man stood up, his trench-coat fanned out by the hot air, tattered in many places. His right arm bleeding profusely, and there're burns and dirts everywhere.

"Ah – ha, ah – "

His circuit was burning off. Two circuits that let him match the heretic god earlier started to crush his body from the inside. He couldn't hold it any longer. Even with all the display of power, he still had boundaries that cannot be stepped easily.

Right now, his burden already reached the limits.

_Ungh. Did I push myself too hard...?_

And there, it happened.

A girl, with her hair of silver tied into a ponytail, barged on the scene. Wearing a blue shirt, coupled with a black-striped cloak - a battle dress of blue and black, carrying a long and beautiful sword.

"I will assist you, magus!"

She was Liliana Kranjcar, without a doubt. She stood in front of him, almost like trying to shield him from the god's harm before readying her [Song of a Bow].

What are you doing – !? Stop it! He pleaded in his mind.

_"Jonathan's Bow, for you are a vessel of the hero, swifter than eagles, stronger than lions! With all speed, dispatch your enemy!"_

Her extreme chant speed was too slow for the god. As she momentarily charged four bullet arrows towards the white-clad archer, Pegasus generated a massive shockwave from its wings, caused her to be blown away by the raging wind.

"Kyah!"

Pain. That was all she felt- an unbelievable and unbearable great pain. She lost her footing and crashed backwards, hitting her back on the hard and cold ground with her eyes widening from the impact.

"Kranjcar-san!" he shouted, the girl was nearly unconscious.

Looked up, he shocked as the deity released a salvo from above.

"It's a sad thing really, but you're such a hassle to be my bride. Farewell, young maiden."

Death sentence in the form of multiple light showers raining down upon the scorched plaza ground.

_No!_

"LOOK OUT!" Distance between them was too far, he couldn't make it. It was too late, arrows that once loosed could not change their course.

The black swordsman rushing through the poor girl. Every step, every seconds counted his worth to save her as the sharp edges prey for their target –

_I won't... I won't let anyone die! Not again!_

***Scene Break***

She took one ragged breath - a breath which was never to escape her sweet lips; she already closed her eyes, accepting her fate.

_So... is this it?_

But strangely, nothing happened to her.

She lay in darkness for what felt like hours. Despite what she assumed to be her death, her side still ached from the wounds and her legs still tensed just like before Perseus shot her. At that moment, she felt a hand reaching out, grabbing her own and pulling her up. Another hand grabbed her side, and suddenly she felt her world filled with warmness.

_Warm, it's too warm. Doesn't death feel cold?_

After a moment, she finally mustered the courage to open her eyes.

In front of her...

A horrifying sight of a black-clad magus hugged her tightly, his whole body impaled with rains of multiple arrows.

***Scene Break***

The face paled at the sight before her eyes. Her heart was beating fast, too fast.

"A-are... you... alright?" She already knew the answer, but still trying to reject the sure possibility.

The man just stood there, silent. No voices, no sounds, no moves.

_"He's sent by a certain Magic Association to help us with this operation. Be friendly and please cooperate with him within this one week." The Chief of Bronze-Black Cross said that as he put his hand into the man's shoulder._

_"My name is Shirou Emiya. Nice to meet you." the man introduced himself to all the Knights in Bronze-Black Cross, bowing his head as he did so._

Arrows that could knock even Campione unconscious on direct hit. His injuries must have been fatal, but...

_For a full week they tried to locate groups of Chimera that previously raided people's supply food and destroyed buildings in many places. And at day 6, they appeared on the outskirts of Genoa._

_"Our priority is clear: buy time for people to escape. Now go!" All the mages, witches and knights all scattered to hold the Chimera invasion. Some of them warned people to leave the place as soon as possible._

_But the foes were strong enough._

_Everything happened in mere seconds. Liliana just accidentally stepped between an injured knights and bystanders when fighting many, as a Chimera's deadly claw came downwards. She couldn't run away because of them._

_A sound of tearing flesh filled people's ears._

_Emiya grabbed three of them with his own body as its nail digging deep into his back, those four tackled down several meters away from the creature. He grimaced slightly from the deep wound that would surely leave marks, but ignored the pain._

_"Are you all right? Please, leave it to me and go away." said the man. He unsheathed his bag containing two chinese black and white swords, then stood again, proceeded to beat the Chimeras despite his bloody figure._

_'Is he an idiot, going in without any magical weapons at all?!' Liliana thought as she ran from the battle with two more using flight spell. A moment later, she retracted her opinion when blood sprayed out from the Chimera's midsection as the man jumped on its side and spun his blades. Only a few slashes from this man and some of creatures were already bleeding, cut in half, organs splattered; while some men took longer than that even with the aid of flight spell. He just kept dancing swords, rushing one by one, red covered the whole area until only one of the Chimera remained, near-death._

_"I'm sorry," he muttered softly, enough for the creature to hear in its state, though there was no chance it could comprehend his words or his feelings. Then he swung down one last time, spraying his face with yet more blood. And the chimera was no more_.

He stood still in the middle of destruction. Battered with bloods and everything else, but not even a little movement could be detected from that cracked figure.

Like statue of a man that hugged his lover even upon his very death, tried to protect her from any harm.

_Shaking her head in dismay, Liliana began assessing the redhead's wounds. His external wounds are so numerous and deep, and strangely enough Liliana was unable to heal him with [Recovery] spell, thus she must resort to bandages. Weird, she thought. Chimera didn't have any poison that could hinder her healing ability and yet she couldn't heal him properly as a Witch. But then she didn't give it much thought and just dismissed it as her lack of skill._

_"Take off your shirt," she said, red blush crept up her face._

_"No thanks. I can do it myself." He retorted, embarrassed by the girl's straightforwardness._

_"Take it off."_

_"No."_

_"I said, TAKE IT OFF! NOW!"_

_With that declaration the female reached down and forcefully grabbed the bottom of Emiya's shirt and began wrenching it upwards, unfortunately this caused the black coat and sweater, which had been through quite a bit over the past days, to rip and expose his upper body._

_And then she gasped afterwards._

_There're scars everywhere, maybe due to various battles and such, but the most noticeable one was... a large sunburst-like shape on his chest._

"Why... did you save... me?"

She repeated the same word over and over again. The image of him etched deeply in her mind.

"Why... ?"

A single tear slipped down her cheek, followed by many more that wet her clothes as they dropped to the ground.

***Scene Break***

_Black. A pitch black darkness._

_Emiya could sense when an ending had come; but for some reason, he couldn't sense his end being here. He had a feeling that, when he did die…his families and friends would be with him. And at the very least, he would see her again.._

_He would see Saber again..._

_Saber..._

_No. No, he wouldn't die here. He still didn't fulfill his dream to being a Hero of Justice yet. He had to keep going… for his friends… for Kiritsugu… for Illya... and for everyone. He's not going to let some self-proclaimed half-assed archer god knock him and keep him down!_

_Looking into himself, subconsciously Emiya explored the areas of his mind and soul that he had never explored before. Knowledge he never knew flowed into his mind. Memories of many weapons filled his head one by one instantly, just like Caliburn had granting him Saber's dreams in the past. Accessing the records of his soul, and then..._

_He appeared on the wasteland filled with infinite swords._

***Scene Break***

"... Hm. I am feeling a strange unease."

Ignoring the currently despaired Liliana with tears streaming down her face, Perseus had a troubled expression.

"I should have already defeated this young man now, but I do not feel the sense of elation that comes after victory. The feeling I also had when I shot that godslayer in the chest earlier. Did I make a mistake somewhere? Such a detestable premonition. Why is that?" He mused with low voice, thinking about the current situation.

It's certainly strange, for someone like Perseus to be so guarded against mere mortals. Something felt very off. Regardless, Perseus once again took an arrow from his quiver and readied his bow.

A figure of young girl suddenly appeared from the darkness, in her hands now a black bow. She stood in front of black-clad man and Liliana.

"Athena... Get out of my way." With the serious tone unlike before, still floating in the sky with Pegasus, Perseus growled.

"Do thou have no respect for this boy? He's already been defeated, fair and square, by thy arrows. Isn't it the time to fight with me?"

With that, she unleashed barrages of black arrow onto the Greek hero. It couldn't be described perfectly, but those arrows contained 'death' that would injure him if they hit.

But the hero remained in his position. His back shining brightly, several rings appeared again like golden rays of the sun.

"Heh, such heresy. Allow me to show you what the feeling of loser is like."

The sun god spoke in a voice filled with pity, and the rings began to shine brighter.

"My ancestors, the light of the east, grant me power - in your name I request this miracle. By the oath of the serpent-slaying warrior, now is the time to grant me this strength!"

In response to these words of power, the rings shone with even greater intensity. Like the blazing sun that illuminated the sky and the land, it was a very warm, gentle light. All the black arrows vanished under the pure radiance. Athena suddenly fell to her knees, her body covered with the white light that drained all her strength.

"Thou... Thou darest to cheat with such impunity!" She hissed at the serpent-slaying god, but her voice was too low. Half her authority had been sealed, and she couldn't fully control her abilities as Athena yet, not after her fight with Kusanagi Godou. Perseus smirked.

"Even with Gorgoneion back into your possession, you're still no match for me. For those who reigned both earth and darkness, light is their greatest enemy." Looking down at her foe, the white deity smirked and readied his trusted bow.

"Just stay there and watch when I kill both this maiden and her 'savior'."

Half-pulling the arrow with bowstring, Perseus locked aim at his targets. Blazing blue flame emitted from it. The arrow itched to be release as the god concentrated on the target.

The two targets didn't move an inch from their spot.

"A... aaaaaa..." Liliana didn't want to get off, and couldn't get off even if she wanted to. The hand of presumed dead kept on hugging her tight. In response, she hugged him back in return for what seemed like forever. It's her way to atone for what she did earlier.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Her whole body's shaking. She whispered softly onto his ear, feeling the blood getting drenched onto her own bare skin and clothes, burying her face onto the black swordsman's neck, sobbing uncontrollably.

Then she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable death.

The arrow came down. She flung away several meters to the side and her face was sprayed with blood. But there's something wrong.

The blood wasn't her.

For a moment she felt ethereal. _Why is there no pain? Why am I still… alive?_

_*CREAK*_

Harsh cry of metals rang loudly through the silent night.

_*CREAK* *CREAK*_

All attention turned on the source of that sound.

A man who was presumed dead fighting the hero...

_*CREAK* *CREAK* *CREAK*_

A minute later, the entire city filled with chaotic screams and anguish from those who saw the whole scenery. The two gods also gaped at that sight, their mind filled with questions and utter disbelieve.

"…You actually survived? Who are you... no…just _what _are you?"

Perseus hissed, now seriously alarmed, for while the Faker was certainly bleeding over most of his body, with enough sharp edges protruding from him to slaughter a battalion, he was not dead. He had guarded his head to prevent a concussion – and the sharp edges erupting from his flesh did not belong to rocks, but blades, growing out from under his skin. It couldn't be a human figure, it's like...

A scale mail made of _swords_, sprouting out from all his body.

Even Athena, the self-proclaimed goddess of death couldn't predict such outcome. Her dark eyes just staring at the boy with intensity, her mouth opened slightly while still trying to overcome Perseus' power.

What willpower. Is this the true potential of humans when facing against their own death?

"I... told you... to run away... didn't I?" the man let out a small laugh, even with his unbroken hand reaching forward to touch her face, wiping tears off her cheeks.

"Aaaa... aaaaa..." Her body went limp.

It looked so painful, so many weapons piercing the skin. Liliana was sure that it hurt more than anything she had ever experienced. It didn't look like there was anyway to reverse that. Just imagining that this is the same man that embraced her before made her shiver in fear.

Distances from them, people already retreated far enough to save themselves if something do happen. Most of them still watching the battle, but with enough luck they won't get caught in collateral damage.

"Heh. So it's not like dying here won't accomplish anything."

It's definitely a critical state. His body wasn't what we call 'human' anymore. And yet, despite that... he still laughed like it was nothing.

"Why..." The female knight clenched her fists, "Why..." She suddenly grabbed him by the arms part that not wounded, "Why do you have to be so stupid!" Tears were running down her cheeks as she said all of this. "If... if you do this, you'll only be hurt!"

She remembered more of the events happened a year ago, along with his wise words.

_"A Hero can only save those whom he has chosen to save. To save many, one must be sacrificed. To save a thousand, a hundred must be sacrificed."_

_"To save everyone... a Hero must be sacrificed." _

_That's the answer of the red-haired man when asked by the Great Knights why he favored to save everyone instead of saving his own._

_"To become a Hero means sacrificing your own happiness for others."_

The tears wouldn't stop. Never in her life had she felt so many tears flow from these blue eyes. She didn't know how much he had to go through. These strong feelings...all of them were sad. So they flowed and continued to flow in form of salty waters.

He stretched out his hand, and patted her head gently. She should've been angry, she should've been sad at his reckless behavior. And yet despite that, warmth was spreading in her chest the moment she felt his hand patting on her head.

Then he stopped after realizing that Perseus was hovering above him with a surprised expression. The battle was still going on, this was not the time for a moving reunion. The black-clad released his hug from the blue Witch at hir side and prepared himself with 'Battle Mode'.

"Do you think we can escape from the pegasus with your flight spells? Is it fast enough to Pegasus?" She just shook her head slowly.

"How about the bow you use earlier?" She shook her head again,"Two times are the limit, and I already used both." She added.

"So there's no other choice but to fight, huh..." He began to analyze the current situation. _Right now, we're at disadvantage. My sword body can only do so much for the arrows, if he used the magical ones and all of them hit me I'm a dead meat, and my tracing is almost at the limit. Not to mention we can't attack him directly because he's far above us, and Liliana Krancjar can't use her bow skill. The good thing is... well, is there a good thing in this situation? The only thing we can do is... defend against his attacks and wait for a chance to counter._

"I guess it can't be helped then." The redhead sighed deeply, "Stay near me. Do whatever you can to help out, but do not stray too far. Understood?"" She wiped her tears, then nodded nervously. "I'm counting on you."

One step, two step, three step. He moved forward, weaponless unlike his usual stance but staring deeply at the mounted hero above.

Perseus took this as the sign that the battle would continue. His expression changed agin to usual arrogant smirk. "Finished already? Then, here I go!"

Waves of arrow came from the sky. On his back, the Great Knight casted a spell. A blue circular barrier appeared and acted as a shield, defending them from all the attacks. Few seconds later however it nearly shattered as it was hit by one of Perseus' light arrows.

"Sorry, I'll be borrowing this for a while. (Ah!)" He snatched the sword in her arms without further notice, and blocked the flurry of arrows that came straight penetrating the barrier with Il Maestro in his right hand. The ones that he couldn't block (more like couldn't care less to block) surprisingly fell short to his metallic body, the sword mail protecting him from further harm.

"Persistent, aren't you…" Perseus said in a strange tone, his face rigid, pulling back five arrows with his index and ring finger, "Well then, let's see how long you manage to endure my assault!"

Thousands of arrows fired simultaneously from his fingers, and blasts of shockwaves nearly covered all the ground. There's no escape. They're trapped.

***Scene Break***

_"…So bear this in mind, Emiya-kun. Magic beyond one's limit will make the caster a cripple. Never do anything as dangerous as projecting Saber's sword again."_

There's no mistake. Even without Caliburn, projecting Noble Phantasms was just asking to die pitifully, or at the very least, disabling his body parts for the rest of his life. He shut his eyes, imagining what would potentially happen.

He knew that. He knew that it's beyond his level right now. But he kept going despite the numbness in his nerves, ragged breaths, broken bones, deep cuts, bruises, and even metallic body; all of them could potentially turn into something deadly.

When he opened his eyes again–

He stood there. In the far side of barren lands, with black gears crawling up the sky covered in haze and smog, and swords sticking down the ground, he stood there.

_An archer who wields swords, but isn't trained as a swordsman.__The only__ hero __he__ could imitate to become stronger.__ An ordinary man tried to fulfill his ideal at any cost. __The man who threw himself away to become a hero, and was plunged into an endless path of bloodshed._

_To train the will to be like steel, and in the end it became steel._

_He stood there alone, in a desolate plain with swords._

_"The core did not change. No, it cannot be changed."_

_"If you ever walked the same path as me..._

_I will expect you in this red solitude deserted land in the end."_

"–––––––––"

No, it's not that he wanted to. But he **needed** to. He needed to become 'Hero of Justice' to accomplish his ideal. That's his very own purpose, his very own emotion; because he didn't have anything else.

With that in mind, he hardened his resolve and made his decision.

So the disaster that killed many lives never happened again.

So he wouldn't see people around him suffer anymore.

If he didn't, how he could face those people that already left him?

_Not yet._

And he felt like his body suddenly lit on fire. Blowing pressure of despair, the wind of steel, crushing his body to pieces. The indescribable pain, even a cut to his stomach and diagonal slash crushing his shoulder couldn't possibly compare to this kind pain.

Full of determination, his hand reaching forward to grasp the light. No matter how, all the world's pain wasn't enough to bring him down, and it would never be.

The world changed. Sky full of iron forge smokes and gears turned into twilights, reaching till the distant horizon.

An unreachable utopia. An impossible wish. A fake and borrowed ideal. Then...

_One sentence was enough. One part power of the chant. The true origin of his world._

A chant to call the world.

***Scene Break***

_Projection, start._

He put all his magical energy into his now metallic left arm.

"**I am the bone of my sword.**"

First sentence of an endless journey beyond the hill of swords.

The sentence echoed through the entire Naples. At that very moment, Perseus let the arrows loose, which multiplied into a thousand, each one blazing through the air with their blue to golden flame trailing behind them, formed an entire orb around the black-clad magus and his companion. The sun god was confident that these arrows would kill the human, for none of mortals had ever survived it. But a few tense seconds later, he realized something…

The arrows weren't moving further anymore.

Silver, twinkling chains that resembled the nebula at night danced through the air, circling the red-haired man with extreme speed, surrounding him and the two girls protectively from the barrage of sharp edges. It was beautiful, it was deadly. Both gentle and fierce weapon judging from different point at both ends, a circular weight for defense and a sharp triangular end for offense.

The legend said that the chain was renowned for its great apparent length, as it could extend enough to reach light years away, penetrating the very fabric of space itself. The chain who said to belonged to a sea monster, Cetus.

"Wha–How–How... HOW DID YOU HAVE IT, BASTARD!?"

The usually calm Perseus suddenly filled with anxiety and rage. He rushed quickly to the man, riding Pegasus.

"Gaaaah!"

But the chain link tracked him and wrapped tightly around Perseus, restricted him and his Pegasus. No matter how he struggled painfully to broke himself free, the chains just keep tighter and tighter, pulling at the god's body. Impossible that it might be, Perseus had to wonder if breaking the chain with just this mortal body would be enough to make all his bone made of steel cracked over.

"Surrender and return back to whence you belong, Heretic God!" Emiya shouted, only to be countered louder by the wargod himself.

"Not yet! Pegasus!"

Emiya definitely miscalculated this part, and Liliana just lost all hope now that she expent all her magic power to defend themselves earlier. They watched in horror as the creature broke through the chain, bloody red as it did and charged at their direction in wounded fury. A sacrificial attack at the cost of its life.

He alone cannot block all those arrows that still aiming from the air, and those two girls doesn't look like they'll stand a chance against him in this state. Therefore...

He brought up his left hand throughout the direction of berserk flying horse, casting the strongest shield imaginable in his mind.

[The Seven Ring That Covers The Fiery Heavens].

"**_Rho, Aias_**!" All of the remaining light arrows that managed to hit the red shield instantly deflected and disappeared without traces.

Not the case with Pegasus though. It burst through the first petal without any sign of slowing. The next petal slowed it down considerably and by the time third barrier was burst, the heavily wounded horse already lost most of its speed and lights, still trying to break through the final barrier.

Athena who still struggled against Perseus' curse, fortunately managed to keep her body moving despite the paralyzed state. Seeing the impending doom on her very eyes, the goddess decided to bring out Heraneion and Gorgoneions's power to help him, even if it meant critically injuring the green dragon further in the process.

"_Breaker Gorgon_!" Athena shouted.

It worked. Little by little, the surroundings around him slowly turned into stone except Emiya himself. A sign of stopping now emerged on the white lightning whilst grey color covered it slowly. It's not over though, because above the sky, the restrained Hero issued his final command on his inseparable companion.

"Pegasus, crash into my damnedest enemy!"

With this much energy, it would crush the entire Naples if left alone, and possibly killing all the people in vicinity. No time to hesitate. He flooded the shield with more od as fast as he could.

The explosion it caused was easily swallowed by the light which flooded the black-cloak like a raging tsunami.

"AaaaaaaaaAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGG HHHHHH!"

He could hear himself scream, he definitely screamed as the pain overloaded his sensory organs. He was blind, deaf and felt like someone just put him through a shredder, torn to little bits and pieces, again and again and again. In his back, he could Liliana screamed as well, along with the citizen's screech far from the plaza.

... and by a miracle no doubt, the duo were still alive.

He's standing, he was still standing despite the fact that the winged beast carved a kilometer long scar in the ground. But a price had to be paid: The arm holding Il Maestro now was covered in steel fully, and blades had started to protrude from his shoulder. He knew, he only had a few more seconds before his body gave out.

_Damn, down to one last projection before I lose my mind completely._

Looking at the expression on his face, Liliana knew what would happen next. Not to mention that Perseus almost at the point of breaking the chains now that Emiya couldn't provide the energy to sustain it anymore. First the right hand was released from the innumerable strain, now the left hand. Only a matter of time before other two limbs and his whole body would be free as well. But seemed like he didn't waste any time on that and instead formed the biggest flame arrow possible on his bow, trying to end this once and for all.

"This is for reminding me of that wicked sea monster! Prepare yourselves!" The blue magical energy of the arrow became even bigger, almost at the size of homing missile. There's still some time left before it was shot, but not by much before this city facing the whole destruction. The final was near.

A soft hand suddenly gripping his right palm. Loose at first, then tighter at the passing seconds. It was the silver-haired [Bronze-Black Cross] Knight.

"We don't have any choice Emiya-san, I will transfer all my magic reserves to you now. That should at least give you chance to survive." Liliana knew that normal healing wouldn't do to this person, but his abilities were definitely out of this world, just like Campione. So maybe... applying the same treatment would do the trick.

"What? But then ..." His mind thinking fast. Normally, mages and mikos from the recent Mage Associations used the outside energy or 'mana' to do the job, but he was sure that this girl was talking the inside energy or 'od'.

Nevertheless, he presumed it would be a prana transfer ritual. But with their reserves down to low levels, it's possible that this act would take her life.

"No matter, I will assist you to the best of my abilities even if it would cost me my life. But before that, I have one last request." While thinking hard in their minds, they glanced at each other. Emiya was sure he could see the faint blush on her cheeks for some reason.

"What is it, Kranjcar-san?" The redhead finally spoke. In all his life he never abandon people who needs help, and he definitely won't ignoring their last will either

"From now on, please call me 'Lily'."

...

"...pardon?"

"Call me 'Lily'. Didn't you hear what I just said?"

Shock was an understatement, he was expecting more. He remembered this kind of attitude very well, long time ago. It's like a certain braid girl with white and blue clothes when asking for food.

Then a small chuckle could be heard.

"Wh-what?" She's trying to keep her stoic expression, but that didn't hide anything of her fervent blush.

"Sorry, but you sounded just like someone I used to know."

To be honest, he did not think that she was someone who revealed her emotions, wearing a mask of proud and stoic Knight instead. In reality, she was really an emotional and shy girl. Just like _her_.

She had been seriously anxious, angry and sad before, and her emotions were clearly displayed on her face. Now she's worried that this moment might be the end of her life, as well as people which she wanted to protect. That's why she wanted a last request, but he didn't expect it to be simple things like this.

In return, he gripped her hand even tighter, leaving the girl surprised. She immediately looked at him with the red tint at her cheek.

"Don't worry Lily, I won't that die easily."

He smiled.

He just smiled at all of this mess. It's as if he was sure he could save everything like a superhero should, even at the cost of his life.

That left the silverette's heart flutter even more, her face gentle. She knew that any of her words wouldn't reach him right now, he's too dense despite her every attempt. So at least she wanted to do this.

"For my sake... and for the sake of victory, please do your best. I'm begging you." Her slightly lips trembling a bit though.

Emiya became dumbfounded at her speech, before he suddenly realized. The gear in his brain now turning properly.

_Oh right, applying prana transfer could only be possible with..._

Before he thought about it further, Liliana already closed her distance and...

_...liquid._

At the next moment, a warm feeling could be felt from his lips. A deep kiss, sealed the contract between man and woman.

The moment lasted for ten seconds, but Liliana nearly fainted after giving all of prana reserves to him, her body ready to fell to the ground. Emiya in immediate response grabbed her body with his unscathed right hand that still wielding the almost broken Il Maestro, and slowly put her on the debris-free plaza floor near him.

"Heh, what a bold move for a request. But time is limited. Now face me!"

_Thank you, this much is enough. _The very small prana left from the girl ensure him that she's still alive. And his power was recharged for a small bit as well, enough to perform his last resort.

He stood up and switched Il Maestro to his metallic left hand, that stretched the arm up.

_Trace, On._

In the instant, time seemed to freeze between the two fighting warriors. The black one spilled a lot of blood on his half-metallic body and lost his breath, but he didn't stop.

_Concept of creation, basic structure, composition material..._ He visualized all image needed to make it. The broken blade changed its shape into a black sleek longbow. Ugly and crooked as it seemed, it could still function well as a bow.

Now he just needed to make the right 'arrow' to defeat him. A record gift from the King of Heroes, suited for slaying gods.

_Skill imitation, growth experience, accumulated years... _Gripped tightly in his right hand, he imagined a combination of sickle and sword. Not an outstanding sword, but its unique trait was unparalleled comparing to many.

_Excelling manufactured process...!_

A perfect copy of serpent-hunter scythe in right palm, gleamed with silvery light in the darkness. The divine weapon to with the ability to deny immortality.

Without hesitation, the black-clad redhead knocked the sword into the bowstring. Still struggling, Perseus seemed confused at his actions, no doubt wondering if he was about to do something as foolish and improbable as firing a sword from a bow. Emiya knew that too, judging from his expression.

_No, it still isn't perfect. This kind of curved dull weapon won't let me pierce him, unless..._

Little by little, he began reinforcing all aspect of the sword. No, it couldn't be described as reinforcing, more like _altering_ the sword to suit his needs. To be more durable, to be more maneuverable. And gradually it changed shape to be more arrow-like, complete with the sharp tip on the head.

How many times Perseus eyes widened in awe and shock between this encounter? The sword suddenly reshaped itself, a wave traveling from its tip to its hilt, reforming from something far too blocky to fly true to something aerodynamic and lethal looking. Shined brightly like a blazing star, all that's left was to shoot the sword-arrow to its target.

"I won't let you!"

The big blue arrow released at nearly the speed of sound. Literally no normal human could even manage to avoid it, even mages only hoped to be on luck with Grimoires that protect them. In response, Emiya still didn't shoot the 'arrow' yet.

Only one chance, no mistake allowed. Could he make it?

_- A man's dream has the power to shatter a hundred realities together._

He already did this almost every single night, in every single life, every single _reincarnation_.

_Placing the footing,  
forming the body stance,  
readying the bow,  
raising the bow,  
drawing it apart,  
full drawing,  
and release!_

"Strike true, **HARPE**!."

Unleashing the absolute kill, cascading through the night sky, soaring at the speed of light. Broke through the blue flaming arrow and fully dispersed it to prana. Sword-arrow aimed at the trapped hero, every millisecond went closer, closer and...

***Scene Break***

After remaining in his position for a while, Emiya closed his eyes and lowered his bow. His swords slowly closed around his body and pulled inside, leaving him with only blood and aching pain. The chain already disappeared even before he released the bowstring. The shot nearly drained all of his energy, and even with his outstanding regeneration capability, he still felt that he could fall to his knees at any minute. Only his willpower that let him stood in his position.

He didn't need to see the target anymore. Imagination and reality already converged. In his mind, the arrow already been knocked right in the center.

_Bull's eye._

Frozen in shock at the disappearance of his final attack, the hero could not move even a bit before the released arrow of sorely injured magus sprang into motion. In a split second, the arrow pierced his chest all the way to his back.

Straight through his heart.

"I-impossible..." He whispered. The arrow's power took effect, and Perseus felt his vision blur. His last strength had fade away, as he slowly– kept falling down through the air and landed to the mother earth of Naples with a loud crash. A big crater formed around him as he laid between his back in helplessness, the sickle-like sword still sunk against his chest.

"Aaah, I see..." coughing blood, the Greek-Roman war god spoke, "Never once I thought in my wildest dreams that the sword granted to me would be the cause of my own downfall..." More blood spilled onto the god's white cloak, stained it with red. The world began to reject the embedded sword's existence as it slowly disappeared into nothingness.

Perseus knew, it didn't matter even if he used all of [Sun] to heal himself. The wound in his chest was a lethal wound, almost the same as instant death. And he also knew that even if the young man partially missed his shot, he would still die anyway. That sickle, no, that sword was a natural counter to Heretic Gods.

"I, Perseus, now hereby acknowledged you as the man who will become my sworn rival. Please tell me your name, o 'Hero of Justice'."

"Emiya... Shirou Emiya. But I don't think there's a need for you to remember it." He merely shook his head.

"Hehehe, nonsense. Someone as great as you deserved a well-remembrance in my memory."

It looked like Perseus had no time left, as his foot began mote into light particles. Emiya beside him crouching, leaning closer as he slowly fade away.

_He is not strong. He is not strong at all. He fights risking his life all the time, looking ugly and miserable. But... Who in the world can laugh at him? _Perseus only thought at this when looking deep at the red-hair's soul, the image formed in his eye.

"Why are you trying so hard to save everyone, Shirou Emiya?" he slowly spoke, "No matter what anyone does, people that cannot be saved will always exist. All you can save with your ideal is the ideal itself. That is all humans can do. Is it worth sacrificing your happiness, your family, your life, your soul, to save people?"

"..." He fell silent. The question was the exact same question that Archer asked during Holy Grail War three years ago. Even now he's still unsure how to answer it properly.

In the end, a hero of justice didn't mean too much. It only meant hurting yourself to save others, and usually failing. And usually dying. But try as he might to surrender to his fate, there was still something there. Something he wanted to live for – something that, in spite of his determination to uphold justice, he could not give up even for all the lives he had managed to save – and would ever save.

"..."

"I know, it's impossible to save everyone. Even so –"

The red-haired man finally let out his honest voice.

"– I will follow that ideal without turning back. I'll ready to pay my life for it.

This path... I don't believe it's the wrong one."

Hearing that, Perseus just smiled gently. His hostility and attraction on the boy no more emitted from him. It lost completely in the air, just like wind traveled through the sky. He merely sighed for the last time.

"Thank you so much, Shirou Emiya. May fate let us meet again..."

With the last words, his whole slowly dissipated into nothingness, once again his soul went to the cycle of reincarnation that is Akasha. Emiya slowly looked up into the moonlight night.

_Perseus wasn't Perseus, nor was he Mithras, Heliogabulas or Sol Invictus. He was more like a distillation of the common traits shared by all of them, the stranger from the east, the sun god that tries to become king of the gods. He has no name, so he calls himself Perseus because as he says it's the most famous name associated with him in the current , as sun god Heliogabalus he was assassinated by his own guards, ending his rule in merely four years. Even as Perseus reigned Mycenae, in the end he went to war against Argos and slain by his own cousin, Megaphentes. He was a god worshipped by many, yet he couldn't stand at the summit of the gods from the first till the last. ._

Honestly, Emiya felt a sense of pity for him. All he craved for was honour, attention. If someone took it away from him, he would had nothing left. Yes, he's a bad guy, but not every bad guy was certainly born evil. He's just the victim. The evils were the ones making him, the gods, vicious bastards that only cared about themselves. In a way, Emiya could understand Perseus' agony of fighting.

In the past, he had no magic worth mentioning, no combat experience of note, no plan or evenknowledge until the War that changed his life forever. But now he was a wanderer who was constantly covered in the blood of sinners, a far cry from the boy he once was. He already promised to save everyone, and he wouldn't take it back, wouldn't trade it for anything, even if the world tortured him with thousand deaths.

With his mission finally completed, he stood up there for a while, watching the lights that was Perseus' soul raised up to the sky until all of them fade completely.

"..."

Liliana leaned on the plaza floor, hazily watching his back. The back of a man who bring out the impossible, facing a God and actually won just like in legends. The figure was all that's left in her vision, before she unintentionally closed her eyes and sleeping sound. Beside her, a white-haired girl finally began to move, the curse around her body no longer there. Heretic Athena.

From Athena's body of a little girl, one could somehow feel a divine power of deterrence. Looking over all life across the lands, the power of the loving earth mother. Beneath the earth, she was the queen of the underworld, the power that ruled death and darkness. Possessing unparalled ferocity, the power of a war goddess. Lastly, the power from the wisdom of a goddess of knowledge. And even with all of that, she trembled before the sight of him, an unknown force that swept along the darkness inside her body and heart. She idly wondered if Pandora was watching all of this, whether she would happily give him the knowledge as a Dark King, or instead feel terrified and regarded him as the anomaly that needs to be crushed.

That is, if he could stay any longer in this world.

Even if she knew to be honest, Heretic God themselves aren't really Gods in literal sense, just people's imagination that formed the Divine Spirits, pretending into one.

_What was she trying to do_? Emiya didn't even have to time to form that thought, when Athena came into him, rose on her toes and, with her cherry-red lips, planted a kiss firmly on his own.

"—?!"

He was too shocked to even respond. This lasted for a few seconds before being released out, both heaving on deep breath. He could feel it, some of her life force were transferred to his. But why would she do that?

"Take this as a prize for achieving the most impossible task that humanity ever hope. Farewell, O Trickster of Gods. Maybe someday, somewhere, we'll meet again."

Haughtily proclaiming that, Athena disappeared from the night scene, leaving the man confused as hell. For a moment he touched his lips, feeling the sweet scent before shaking his head in utter disbelief.

At his surroundings, silence filled the atmosphere, the people of Naples standing in awe on the scene that lasting about two hours. Then they screamed loud with great joy and happiness, the town became so lively as it used to be. Even victory yell about 'A black Godslayer' and 'the man who beats the impossible' could be heard everywhere around the city. They smiled from bottom of their heart, glad to be alive and well to see the day again.

Seeing the reaction of all Italian folks here, Emiya reminded himself of the first memory in his mind.

... He remembered that face. The figure of the man who was joyous from the bottom of his heart at finding a living human being, with tears amassing in his eyes. He looked so very delighted.

"Old man..."

A drip to the ground. He felt his face wet despite the coldness of night. Placing his hands to his cheek, he realized that at some time, he had been crying. The water on his palm is proof of that,

He knew that the sky is still far and unreachable, his journey was still a long way to go. But he would keep running on that hill. He'd keep running and aiming for the distant utopia. Even if his body gave out before the time, he would face his last moment without any regrets.

_If I aim for the distance, there should come a day when I will be able to reach out to what I have been aiming for. _That was the sentence he believed faithfully before starting on this journey, a keepsake to remember those who guided him from once he was. All the people who gave a meaning to his empty life. The tears had been brushed off and changed with a smile.

He would not forget them. He would _never_ forget them.

And then in front of Emiya, a multicolored cut in reality formed at the size a bit bigger than him.

"Well, now I guess it's time to say goodbye to this world as well. Wait for me, Tohsaka, Luvia."

_Wait for me, Saber. I will definitely see you at the end of this journey._

He then stepped forward, half enveloped in the whirl of time and space. But he turned back and said the last words to the sleeping girl on the plaza floor.

"Kranjcar-sa– no," He thought about the words that she wanted to hear the most. A bit of shame though, if she actually heard them he'd bet her face would be all red from embarrassment.

"Sweet dreams, Lily."

With that, the multicolored gate closed and the red-haired man wearing black longcoat gone.

Into a different place, and a different time.

* * *

**Author's Note**:

Well, this is my first crossover fics and one-shot at that, so I'm sorry if the quality isn't up to par like most other fics here. Give me some reviews to point out what I could have done better, point out any grammar or spelling mistakes to help me not make them again. Any comments would be greatly appreciated, except flames and trolls which would be ignored.

And for everyone who's been reviewing and following this, I'm sorry to say that it's finished. Plain, straight and simple. I originally write it as a one-shot in mind and even now I'm not intending to continue it whatsoever. If anyone wants to adopt the idea though, feel free to do so.

Thanks for reading**.**


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